Once a week binge

Jumpropegirl5467 · July 2020

So I have been keeping up with my 1,400 cal every day but I have noticed that about once every one or two weeks I’m binging from 2,000 to 3,000. I’ve lost 20 pounds with my diet so far. I guess I’m just worried that binging once every one or two weeks will have a negative impact on my progress.

HeidiCooksSupper · July 2020

The question is how many calories you are consuming overall. If you've lost 20 pounds then you have consumed about 70,000 fewer calories than you've burned total through this period. This means your method is working for you. Weight loss (or gain) is fundamentally a matter of arithmetic. Burn 3500 more calories than you consume and you will lose a pound. Of course, all of this can be hidden by changes in water retention, etc. but over the long haul it is true.

Arguably, yes, binging has a negative effect on weight loss because it increases the number of calories consumed. Cycling as you described has no other real effect. If your binges work to help you stay limited then go for it.

Lietchi · July 2020

I would like to add that if you're binging, it might be because:
- your calorie goal (chosen weight loss rate) is too aggressive. In that case raising calories a bit could help you maintain control over how much you eat.
- you are restricting what you can eat too much (declaring some foods off limits or bad, forcing yourself to eat foods you don't enjoy,...)
- or other reasons, but I'm not an expert on binging disorders, so I can't comment on that

AnnPT77 · July 2020

It kind of matters what you mean by "binge".

People use the term casually, when they mean "I decided to eat a big bunch of tasty food, found it good, and I'm not sorry". But it has a technical definition, too, in terms of uncontrolled/uncontrollable eating of almost any food, often followed by feelings of guilt, shame or failure. That latter is eating disorder territory.

You don't need to say which it is for you.

I'm a peak-y eater, by preference. Now in year 4+ of maintenance, I routinely bank a few calories (undereat my true maintenance level) most days, to eat an indulgent meal or have an indulgent day occasionally. Those indulgences are well over maintenance calories, sometimes double or more. It's a choice, and the opposite choice, to stick to my maintenance calorie goal, is psychologically available to me. Clearly, this has not disrupted my progress. (I admit, it was quite a rare thing to indulge heavily while I was actively losing weight. It became more viable in maintenance, with more calories in play overall.)

If you're binging in the sense of eating literally uncontrollably, compulsively, then it would be good to take steps to understand why that's happening. It's a sign of some deeper problem.

If you're eating that much not as a fully conscious decision (like deciding to celebrate at someone's birthday buffet, say), but instead because you just reach an unplanned IDGAF point and don't want to restrict anymore and feel like you deserve a treat, then I agree with the thought that you may be over-restricting (too big a deficit, or denying yourself foods you enjoy in reasonable portions routinely), and that it would be a good idea to eat more, or to allow for treats within calorie goal more regularly. I'd strongly suggest that you make changes to your routine in that scenario, to avoid it. No guarantee, but for some, that can be a slippery slope to disordered eating, and you don't want that. A positive relationship with food is important, and a bad relationship with food can destroy lots of things, including weight management progress but well beyond.

If you're already at an extreme, already eating whole sleeves of cookies unable to stop, and feeling terrible remorse afterward (or anything in that zone), then it would seriously be a good idea to consider therapy. There should be no stigma to doing that. We consult dietitians when we need help with choosing foods to meet our goals, personal trainers when we need help with planning exercise to meet our goals. Consulting a professional when we need help with our thought-patterns should be no different, no more stigma.

Best wishes!

Xiaolongbao · July 2020

Are you actually binging or just eating over your calories? Every week or two I have a day where I’m just SO hungry. I tend to eat about 1000 extra calories on that day but in good, healthy food. It’s not a binge for me.

Now I’m not recommending it as a method but deciding to do that is a choice I’m making and very different from the out of control feeling of a binge.

If you’re losing weight and not straying into an eating disorder then why worry?

Jumpropegirl5467 · July 2020

I just want to clear up a few points. I do not have a binge eating disorder of any kind. This is something I find myself doing out of pure boredom sometimes and days when I feel extra hungry. As it is once a week sometimes 2 weeks it hasn’t really affected my weight loss because one day does not disrupt months of progress. And most weeks I go by perfectly without one and just stick to a cheat meals. I may be more restrictive during the week in regards to what foods I eat but I do always make it to the necessary 1,400 to encourage healthy weight loss. I was mainly wanting to know that it wouldn’t have a serious affect on my weight loss if I binge eat once in a while.

nikkigetsthinner · July 2020

I don't think so. I also have cheat day once a week, and on that day I will really eat a lot. While I may gain half a pound from that, it usually goes away in a day or two after that so long as I stick to my usual diet schedule. Enjoy it once in a while

Strudders67 · July 2020

Jumpropegirl5467 wrote: »

I just want to clear up a few points. I do not have a binge eating disorder of any kind. This is something I find myself doing out of pure boredom sometimes and days when I feel extra hungry. As it is once a week sometimes 2 weeks it hasn’t really affected my weight loss because one day does not disrupt months of progress. And most weeks I go by perfectly without one and just stick to a cheat meals. I may be more restrictive during the week in regards to what foods I eat but I do always make it to the necessary 1,400 to encourage healthy weight loss. I was mainly wanting to know that it wouldn’t have a serious affect on my weight loss if I binge eat once in a while.

How much weight are you trying to lose? and what rate of loss do you have set in the MFP Guided Set Up screen?

Jumpropegirl5467 · July 2020

Strudders67 wrote: »

Jumpropegirl5467 wrote: »

I just want to clear up a few points. I do not have a binge eating disorder of any kind. This is something I find myself doing out of pure boredom sometimes and days when I feel extra hungry. As it is once a week sometimes 2 weeks it hasn’t really affected my weight loss because one day does not disrupt months of progress. And most weeks I go by perfectly without one and just stick to a cheat meals. I may be more restrictive during the week in regards to what foods I eat but I do always make it to the necessary 1,400 to encourage healthy weight loss. I was mainly wanting to know that it wouldn’t have a serious affect on my weight loss if I binge eat once in a while.

How much weight are you trying to lose? and what rate of loss do you have set in the MFP Guided Set Up screen?

I’m trying to lose my remaining 26 pounds and I have it set on lightly active 1.5 pounds a week.

RockingWithLJ · July 2020

That's not binge eating... in the past my binge has consisted of eating an entire sheet of cake or three family sized bags of potato chips.
It's hard to say how this will affect you or if your progress would be different if you didnt bump your calories every so often. Try not doing it for a month and see how your progress is different

Duck_Puddle · July 2020

Jumpropegirl5467 wrote: »

I just want to clear up a few points. I do not have a binge eating disorder of any kind. This is something I find myself doing out of pure boredom sometimes and days when I feel extra hungry. As it is once a week sometimes 2 weeks it hasn’t really affected my weight loss because one day does not disrupt months of progress. And most weeks I go by perfectly without one and just stick to a cheat meals. I may be more restrictive during the week in regards to what foods I eat but I do always make it to the necessary 1,400 to encourage healthy weight loss. I was mainly wanting to know that it wouldn’t have a serious affect on my weight loss if I binge eat once in a while.

It is all in the math. How much these days affect your loss depends on what your overall deficit is-including these high days.

I also have one day/week that I eat considerably more calories than other days. On purpose. This doesn’t affect my overall loss because I “bank” a few calories from other days to cover the overage on the high day.

If you’re eating at a 500 calorie/day deficit 6 days a week - that’s 3000 (of the 3500 needed to lose a pound). If on the 7th day you eat 1000 over maintenance, then your deficit for the week is now 2000. So weekly loss is just under 1/3 less than what it might be.

However, the reason I have a high day is 1-or corresponds to my long run day when I’m typically ravenous (so I know I’m going to need the calories that day) and 2-A much higher day allows me the freedom to include high calorie foods that I enjoy but don’t find filling-while still having enough calories to eat foods that are filling and nutritious. So for me-this system (a single much higher day) works and I’m not actually losing less (as my days are by design and the calories are all accounted for).

Once a week binge

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